Saiyan Females
by doing 25 life in azkaban
Summary: A look at the Saiyan-Tuffle war and the early reign of King Vegeta through the prospective's of two Saiyan females. Will follow what canon is available for this time period. King Vegeta/OC; Nappa; Bardock/Fasha (Selypa); Toma; Raditz. Rating may go up in the future.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is my first DBZ story. I'll try to update as frequently as I can. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with DBZ nor do I make any money from writing fanfiction. **

Age 720

The Saiyan female known as Peppra crouched in a crevice of red rock—ready. Thirty yards ahead a mother badersh was keeping watch while her cubs drank and cooled off in a rare oasis, the mother looked skittish, clawing the rough red ground and throwing her great head around, her sharp black eyes searching as she kept both eyelids wide open. The twin suns of Planet Plant beat down on those who lived in the Wastes. Peppra and the mother were waiting for the same creature—the father of those cubs.

As the cubs played the mother sniffed the air anxiously and Peppra was momentarily worried that the beast would pick up her scent but that was a baseless fear. Peppra had been crawling around in the semi-wet plains since early that morning-back when just one sun had crested the horizon-as she stalked her prey. Peppra's body was caked from head to toe with red clay. Her clothing was made from the tanned hide of a bandersh she had killed last spring and the strip of hide she used to tie her hair back was taken from her breakfast kill (a small snopes rodent whose meat had been stringy) whose blood matted in her hair. There was no way the mother could smell what danger lurked just out of her range of vision.

As Peppra watched the male badersh came into view, pulling the corpse of a two hundred pound hoofed hardenn for the cubs' breakfast. This badersh was a beast, at least six hundred pounds and seven feet high (when all four paws were firmly planted on the hard ground). He would be quite the kill and he would be hers.

As the cubs began to devour their food and the mother began to relax since her male was back, Peppra began to prowl.

She kept her tail curled tightly around her waist, since it would be her number one give-away. Its hair follicles held more scent than skin did. The silent Saiyan predator stalked twenty-five yards and the herd of badersh was still unsuspecting. Without the male to get the cubs' food the mother would join a larger herd—they would be fine without him.

Twenty yards. Peppra could pounce from this distance, as long as she minded the four ivory, three foot long tusks that protruded from the males snout and head, it wouldn't be a problem.

Peppra bent her knees lower and channeled her ki to her feet to gain extra distance. She prepared to spring.

Three…Two….On-

"Peppra!"

The call, though miles away, is loud enough to scare the pride of badersh. They scatter; the cubs leaving what remained of their meal for the lower life forms.

"Damn it, Nappa!" Peppra cursed under her breath. The Saiyan female looked up and could see him flying toward her, still calling her name to the skies like an idiot. Since she still had so much energy concentrated in her feet Peppra changed her course from where the badersh's had been to where Nappa was now flying above.

Her feet left the ground in a whirl-wind of red dust as she rocketing through the air straight at the large idiot. The wind resistance pulled the tie loose from her hair and coaxed water from her eyes but she was determined to teach Nappa a lesson.

"Peppr-OHF!"

Peppra flew straight into the mans midsection, her arms wrapping around his middle and her body pushing him off of his course so that the two of them were free falling toward the unyielding red ground of Planet Plant.

"Pep!" Nappa yelled, his voice, though rough, was high with excitement as he grasped the young woman's shoulders and pulled her off his midsection. Half a second later their free fall was stopped and they were floating together about twelve feet from the ground.

"You ruined my hunt, Nappa!" Peppra yelled at him, curling her tanned hands into fists and furrowing her dark brows. She let her tail lash back and forth behind her so that he would know how displeased she was with him. "That badersh you scared away by hollering for me all over the planet was at least six hundred pounds!"

Nappa's eyes widened at this and she immediately regretted her quick anger. "Jeez, Pep," Nappa's tail went from excitedly swaying to hanging dejectedly behind him. "I'm sorry; I should have just waited until we met back up."

Peppra sighed; her quick temper was already dissipated. Nappa had that effect on her. "It doesn't matter; we will find something else to eat today. What's your news?"

Immediately Nappa was excited again. "I just spoke to a group of Saiyan's who settle forty miles west of our camp and they told me about a man who has called all battle ready Saiyans to converge in the south on the night before the full moon."

Needless to say, Peppra didn't get as excited as Nappa. "Why would anyone answer that call?" she asked skeptically. Saiyans were nomadic beings; the only ones that settled were Saiyans with a large amount of very small children and Saiyans never met in large groups—not anymore. Companions consisted of their mates and perhaps one or two close comrades. There was really no need for them to herd together; it would only cause discord and fights.

"Wait?" Peppra stopped her train of thought as something Nappa said sunk in. "Battle ready?"

Nappa was back to nodding excitedly, the tuft of black hair on his head bobbing with the motion. "He is promising to makeit worth the while for every Saiyan who makes the trip."

She couldn't help rolling her eyes at Nappa's eagerness. "I take it from your attitude that we have a trip ahead of us." Peppra didn't mind really, the two of them had been in the eastern part of the planet for nearly two years now.

"Well, I am," Nappa laughed and Peppra couldn't help the alarm that she felt at his words. Her tail began turning at the end, curving as she wondered why he would be offering her the choice to separate. Nappa and Peppra had been traveling together for over four years and had known each other for longer than that; their mothers were half sisters, Nappa and his four full brothers had stayed close to Peppra and her ten full brothers during their younger years after his father had died. He was older than she was by four years; there were several of her brothers, and his own, that were closer to him in age, but it was Peppra he had asked to come with him when he left. And despite the fact that she was more than capable of taking care of herself without his assistance she wasn't ready to give up his companionship.

"I'll come too," she informed him while crossing her arms over her chest. She hoped he didn't notice how his offer had confused her. "I'm intrigued and it's past time for a change in scenery anyway. Though, the full moon is the night after tomorrow."

"That's more than enough time to travel to the south," Nappa chuckled. "If we leave now we can get there by mid-morning tomorrow."

Peppra nodded in consent and let her eyes roam his body lazily. He was coated in dried dirt, his hair knotted from flying, and the furs he wore around his waist were dingy; there was some dried blood on his shoulder from when she had thrown a rock at him the previous night. Peppra looked just as awful, it had been weeks since they'd bathed properly and months since they had gotten a change of clothes.

"Let's make it early evening and stop somewhere to bathe and get fresh clothes," Peppra suggested. "You reek."

Nappa snorted. "You don't exactly smell like an apir blossom yourself, Pep."

Peppra fought the urge to smell herself by scowling at him. "Let's get going then."

With a wide grin Nappa set off at a break neck speed that Peppra easily matched and was only _just_ able to outpace. "What's the Saiyan's name?" she called over to her companion.

"Who?"

Peppra rolled her black eyes. "The man who sent out the call!"

"They call him Vegeta!"

The name sounded foreign. "Vegeta," Peppra tried it out. It was strong on her tongue; perhaps it wasn't so bad.

Early the next morning the two Saiyan companions stopped at a lake about three hundred miles from where they needed to be by nightfall. They had crossed paths with a group of Saiyans the night before who had told them this gathering was expected to be big and hard to over-look since it was being held in an abandoned Truffle palace.

Deciding it was a good idea to hunt for new clothes before bathing Nappa and Peppra separated with promises to meet back at the water.

It didn't take Peppra longer than half an hour to find an acceptable animal whose pelt would cover what she needed it to cover. Soon it was skinned smoothly and she began the process of tanning it; continuously stretching the skin tight and concentrating small amounts of ki to her hands to speed the process since she didn't have the necessary time do it the correct way. It was a common pelt, course thick fur that was black and spotted brown. Peppra didn't wait for Nappa before she roasted the gutted meat of her kill with a ki blast and devoured it. Nor did she wait for Nappa before striping out of her old garments and entering the water; leaving the tanned pelt to bake in the sun.

_This planet really shouldn't be named Plant_ Peppra thought vaguely while clawing at her skin; trying to dislodge the filth. The planet housed very little foliage, with two suns the land was mostly flat, unfertile, red ground with the occasional plateau and small body of water.

Of course the Truffles-the Saiyan's planetary hosts for centuries-built cities and used their science to pump water into their cities and to irrigate their land so it would yield edible foliage. She had even heard that the Truffles had running water pumped directly into their individual living quarters so that they could bathe and make waste directly in their homes and the filth would just be taken away down another pipe; or something like that.

Some say that Saiyans had lived in similar affluence on the Saiyan home world but that was unjustifiable information since no Saiyan alive was old enough to have lived on the Saiyan home world; let alone remember it.

It was as Peppra began digging her claws through her hair and over her scalp to relieve the baked on grime there that she realized it had been well over an hour since she had seen Nappa. Sure he was much larger than she was (a whole 6'7'' to Peppra's 5'7'') but it shouldn't take him so long to find an animal that was suitable; he only used enough pelt to cover his bottom half after all. With new annoyance Peppra scrubbed her head harder.

It was another half an hour before Nappa finally returned and he made short work of skinning and gutting his kill before hurriedly devouring its meat and stripping to join Peppra in the water.

By the time he splashed in next to his companion she was done washing and was simply floating in the crisp water and enjoying being clean.

"Took you long enough," Peppra commented dryly, ignoring his antics as he gargled water to clean his mouth. Realizing that she had forgot to do this she quickly did the same but less obnoxiously.

"I got you something, Pep," he grinned after spitting the water out of his mouth and began rubbing water over his body. Peppra watched the water descend through the crevices in his muscled stomach with disinterest. Nappa's nakedness didn't bother her and hers didn't bother him. Many Saiyans went around unclothed, "Two something's, actually," he amended.

"Hn," she grunted, closing her eyes and switched her face from Nappa to one of the suns. "I'll look at them when you finish bathing."

"Perfect," Nappa wasn't fazed by her disinterest. "I know you'll like 'em."

Peppra didn't like them. Peppra loved them! Nappa knew just how to stroke her vanity and had outdone himself this time.

Firstly he had killed an albino animal for her. Peppra don't even know how he found a white animal on this red planet but she was too smitten with the color to care. She gratefully gave him the pelt of the animal she had killed in exchange.

Using strips of leather from the spare parts to hold their garments together they fashioned them into primitive clothes. Nappa's was his usual fitted cloth that went around his hips and was tied together between his legs. The bottom half of Peppra's was mostly the same except she left the bottom untied so it fell to her mid-thigh; it was too much of a hassle to untie when she had to piss.

Peppra spent more time on the top half of her garment since the pelt was so fine. Instead of just tying a large strip around her breasts as she usually did, she cut out sleeves that were about as wide as her palm. The makeshift top left off at the bottom of her ribcage so her muscled stomach was bared. She also placed the ties on the sides instead of just the front. With one tie on each side Peppra could leave the whole front clean and beautiful and the way it tied showed off the curve of her breasts.

Peppra loved this gift and couldn't stop grinning like an idiot every time she touched the insanely soft fur which she did frequently.

But that wasn't all Nappa got for her. Secondly, he had flown into one of the Truffles smaller cities and stole an item he knew Peppra had always coveted. A comb.

It was simple in design, red in color, and flat with fifty small teeth; still she loved it and spent a fair amount of time working it through her knotted hair as Nappa watched.

Peppra loved her hair and knew Nappa did too, which was why he risked getting such an item. Her hair was long; stopping just below her buttocks, and as black as a Ravers wing. Though unlike most Saiyan hair it was straight and when she finished combing she discovered that its texture was softer than her new white pelt.

"It gives your hair shine," Nappa said in awe as he ran his large fingers through Peppra's tresses. They went through smoothly, not snagging at a single tangle.

"Have I told you you're the best person in the world?" Peppra asked as she carefully stored the comb between her ribcage and her pelt on her left side. She and Nappa, like most Saiyans, didn't have possessions other than the clothes they wore but this was a possession Peppra was determined to take with her always.

"Only about fifty times," Nappa flushed at her praise.

Peppra couldn't help the laughter that escaped her lips at his blush. She didn't care that her gratitude made Nappa uncomfortable. For the first time in her life she felt beautiful. Peppra couldn't thank Nappa enough for that feeling.

**A/N: Reviews are always nice and if you have any questions feel free to ask. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I don't think I've had a chance to mention their ages yet in the story (because I doubt primitive Saiyans cared too much about ages) so I'll go ahead and say it here. Peppra is 16, Nappa is 20, and Vegeta is 24. When more characters are added I will fill in more ages.**

The abandoned Truffle palace made Peppra uneasy as it loomed overhead. She knew that it had been abandoned for a long time since it was made of stone instead of the thick and sleek metal that Truffles used now. Still, Saiyans naturally steered clear of Truffle settlements if they could help it so Peppra's uneasiness stayed with her even though she knew no Truffles were around.

There were at least a hundred Saiyans gathered outside the large stone edifice as the last sun was disappearing below the horizon. Nappa and Peppra began to weave through the crowd to get into the building but it turned out that their way virtually unblocked because every Saiyan's eyes were draw toward Peppra.

With white fur clothing contrasting against her bronze skin and black hair shinning in the rays of the lowering sun Peppra's vanity was affirmed by the eyes of these Saiyans. They stood back to watch as she strode toward the palace with Nappa flanking her right side. She couldn't help but feel smug as her own people made a path for her straight into the palace. They were treating Peppra like a Queen because she gave off an alpha manner; she walked with her head high and her tail commanding the space behind her.

Nappa had told Peppra once that she had this effect on other Saiyans she had never been in a group of so many unknown Saiyans, especially one this large. Therefore, this was the first time Peppra was really taking notice of the effect she could have. But as Nappa had told her many times; there were always other Saiyans who had alpha effects, and one of these stopped Peppra's procession short.

One second she was taking her next haughty step and the next she was stepping into a man's chest. Needless to say, she didn't take a step back. Peppra stood chest to chest with the man who was only a few inches taller than her and looked up into his depthless black eyes.

He was bearded; his hair brown and his skin just a shade lighter than Peppra's. His hair stood tall, starting at a very prominent widow's peak and defying gravity until it came to a point. It was ridiculous even by Saiyan standards but he wore it with pride. His brow was elongated by perpetually frowned brown eyebrows. His black eyes were shrewd as he regarded Peppra.

She could hear murmurs as the other Saiyans watched with interest but she ignored them; Peppra was trapped in this man's stare and for a moment she knew he was trapped in hers.

Nappa was so on edge that Peppra could practically feel his anticipation for battle. If she gave the slightest flick of her tail Nappa would help her rip this mans throat out even if it ended in both their deaths. She kept her tail straight.

"Aren't you a pretty one, onna," the man commented, his voice was deep like most Saiyan males but it was a kind of deep Peppra had never heard before. It rumbled with command and she could feel it reverberating in his chest so that it tickled her own. His was the kind of voice that one couldn't ignore, it wrapped around her, filling her ears and her head and making her hair stand on end as goose-flesh dotted her arms. She was heady by the sound of it.

He further oppressed her senses when he reached out a hand to touch her straight, silken hair. He held a strip in his hand for examination before bringing the long strand to his nose and scenting it with a smirk. "And so fresh and _pure_ you are."

Peppra could hear Nappa growl in agitation behind her.

_I will not give this man the satisfaction of seeing me blush!_ Peppra thought furiously, even if everything about him made her head spin. She didn't understand the reaction she was having toward him but she would not let sensation be her master.

With a quick turn of her head the hair slipped out of his loose hold on it. "My companion and I are trying to get through," Peppra reminded him. "We are here for Vegeta's show and _nothing else_. Step aside." _Before I make you_; the threat was implied.

The man's smirk broadened and this infuriated her. "I hope I can give you a good show, onna."

Peppra's eyes widened a fraction. So this was there host for the night: Vegeta.

Smirk still held firmly on his face he stepped aside to let Peppra and Nappa pass. Peppra hoped her legs didn't appear as shaky as they felt.

Peppra had never been claimed. She had seen animals claim each other in the wilds of the Wastes but that made the prospect even less appealing. She was a female and therefore she would be the one whose insides were poked and prodded by a male. She would be the one in the submissive position. She would be the one who would have to give up physical activity to let another person grow inside of her body. She would be the one who would have to expel that person from her body after it was grown enough.

Not happening.

Nappa had told her countless times that she was making it out to be worse than it was. He had assured her that having intercourse was fun and worth the while; but Nappa was also a male so she automatically dismissed anything he said on the matter.

Peppra had never been concerned with sex for recreation or mating and the thought of a mate didn't interest her. Until that man had looked at her; holding the young woman in place with only his stare.

"Nappa," Peppra whispered as Vegeta took his place on a raised platform to begin his show.

Nappa grunted to show he was listening as he glared at Vegeta.

"How do you know when you've found your mate?"

Nappa gave his companion a quizzical look and then intensified his glare at Vegeta, his nostrils flaring in annoyance at Peppra's question. "You'll know him when you see him," he growled reluctantly.

Peppra sighed, _Nappa isn't mated, why would I even ask him?_ The only answer he could give her was the generic response that everyone used. 'You'll know your mate when you see your mate.'

The phrase was so asinine that Peppra had never put any thought into it. But as Vegeta's eyes scanned the crowd of Saiyans before him until he locked eyes with her, a smirk creeping its way onto his hard features, she knew she would have to put some serious thought into the matter.

Vegeta's baritone echoed around the stone walls of throne room that a mass of at least three hundred adult Saiyans were gathered in. He commanded every eye in the room but even as he addressed all those gathered, his eyes stayed locked on Peppra's.

"This palace we stand in was built for Truffle kings four hundred years ago," Vegeta began, spreading his arms wide. Peppra noticed then that the man kept his tail wrapped around his waist instead of swinging freely like all other Saiyans. She wondered why he did that.

"This building has withstood sixty-four attacks from rival Truffle armies before they were united under one king. This building has withstood sieges, bombs, cannons, and the test of time…" he paused, letting the strength of the building the gathered Saiyans stood in weigh on them. Pappra wondered how he knew so much Truffle history. "This palace," he continue, breaking eye contact with her to gaze in admiration at the sturdy stone walls before looking back to his audience and sneering, "is Truffle primitive."

He let that sink in. The castle they were in awe at before now seemed to be mocking the Saiyan race. 'You think _I_ am special?' The walls seemed to laugh. 'You think _I _am great?'

"This great palace was abandoned," Vegeta continued, his arms falling to his sides as if in defeat. "They left it here, empty and purposeless, in favor of steel walls and more technologically advanced cities. The Truffles allowed the Saiyan race to live in the Wastes of their planet because they believed we were not a threat to them behind their impenetrable walls. And we have not been! We Saiyans have lived as nomads in the lands where Truffles fear to go." Here Vegeta's fists clenched in anger and his gaze burned through Peppra.

"But when we, as a race, knocked on their steel walls and asked for their assistance-asked our neighbors to teach us, to guide our proud race toward advancement, to share with us the fruits of their success so that we might build cities of our own, so that we might take the first steps toward being a race of advanced beings once more and live as equals with the Truffles-what do they do?"

An angry yell rose up from the older of the gathered Saiyans. Peppra was surprised Vegeta was old enough to remember; the Saiyans' last appeal to the Truffles had been twenty years ago.

Given fuel by their roar of indignation at the Truffles Vegeta continued his show with a shouted answer: "They turn us away! They refuse to assist us in our time of need because they believe us to be primitive! The Truffles believe us to be wanton! They believe we are nothing but talking animals!" The cheers of agreement were deafening but still Vegeta's voice seemed to rise above it all and be heard. "Will we continue to stand passively by while the Truffles treat us like all the vicious animals that live in their Wastes?"

"NO!"

The assent coming from the crowd was palpable.

"We need to get outta here, Pep," Nappa leaned down to whisper in his companion's ear. Peppra noticed Vegeta up on his stage noticing the motion and raise a bold black brow at the two of them.

"This is going to turn into a raid of a Truffle city," Nappa continued. "I can feel it."

With effort Peppra turned away from Vegeta's piercing gaze to look at Nappa. The crowd still roared around them. "So?" She challenged, "You just want to leave because—." Peppra stopped before she said something hurtful. _Because you don't like another man looking at me_, it was at the tip of her tongue and regretfully she could see from the flash of Nappa's eyes that he knew her train of thought.

Unluckily for her the conversation with Nappa was interrupted.

"You disagree with me?" Vegeta's growl cut its way across the cheer. Peppra looked away from Nappa and into Vegeta's gaze once again, which was still trained on her but this time the entire room followed his lead and they all awaited her answer in dead silence.

_No, I don't disagree with you_, Peppra fumed. But she wasn't about to let him make a fool of her.

"Your words are pleasant, Vegeta, but what exactly are you proposing?" She asked with a scowl, her arms crossed tight over her chest. She didn't have to raise her voice in the silence.

"If the Saiyan race unites for my cause, and I think they will," a cheer, "then we will start at the southern side of the planet at the South Pole City in Oozaru form and our victory against the Truffles third largest city will be a resounding message. From there we will work our way over every surface of the planet until _every_ battle ready Saiyan meets at the North Pole City. That will be where the defining battle will be held."

Cheers, stomping feet, and clapping hands—it was all so very monkey-see-monkey-do.

"And what will we do upon conquering the Truffles?" Peppra asked snidely as the cheers died down. "Saiyan victory is all but assured, I don't contest that. But will we simply live where they lived? Take over their steel towers and fill their roles?" She placed her hands defiantly on her hips, "That doesn't make us advanced. Stealing the toys of other makes us bullies; no better than children playing war games."

The smile Vegeta flashed her almost made her knees buckle. Wicked smile still in place he picked something up from the ground at his feet and flung it at her. Despite the queer way it fluttered she caught it deftly and quizzically turned it over in her hands.

It was a book on how to build hover crafts.

"The library in this palace holds thousands of books on how to do anything the Truffles can to do. And each city has at least two up-to-date libraries of similar sizes. The Truffles will teach us how to advance, whether or not they wish to."

Again, his words were nice but they didn't fill in all the gaps. Peppra flipped through a few pages of the book before realizing her argument.

"You do realize that the majority of Saiyans are illiterate," she pointed out.

Vegeta shrugged. "A Saiyan always has his pride but a literate man is a man who has earned his pride. Those who can will teach those who can't. We have time to work out a system. You seem to have a good mind; perhaps you will help me build the new system?"

Peppra looked at the book in her hands. Her mother had taught her to read as a child because the woman had thought females should have that advantage. Peppra had later taught Nappa and now Vegeta was giving her a purpose in his war. How could she refuse when he was looking at her with such hope? It seemed like the whole room was anticipating her answer. Peppra also found that she wanted to impress Vegeta. She wanted him to know she was intelligent and strong and be proud of her.

"I will help you, Vegeta."

"You have the advantage of knowing my name, onna," Vegeta's voice wrapped around Peppra from behind. His presentation had ended with him inviting every Saiyan to explore the stone palace and do what they needed to get ready for the battle on the next night. This mostly involved leaving to find food or getting a good night sleep.

Nappa and Peppra were wandering around on the second floor, hoping to find at least one unoccupied bed since neither of them had slept in a real bed before, when Vegeta's voice stopped her.

She could see Nappa bristle under his thick skin and she wished he wouldn't; it wasn't any of his business.

Peppra looked to Nappa who had stopped as soon as she had; their backs to Vegeta. "Go ahead and see if you can't find a bed," she encouraged him.

Nappa let out a growl that sounded like "No."

"I'll come find you soon," she promised with annoyance. This man had no trust in her.

Not liking the situation but knowing she'd keep her promise Nappa left. Peppra waited until she couldn't see his back anymore down the long corridor before she turned to face Vegeta.

"You haven't made an effort to keep your name private," she pointed out as she crossed her arms and met his black eyes with her own.

His nose was upturned in disgust as he looked in the direction Nappa had left in. "_That_ man isn't your mate, is he?"

The way he talked about Nappa, as if he was a lower life form, made Peppra defensive even though she was annoyed with the large Saiyan too.

"So what if he is?" Vegeta must have realized he had offended her because he chose his next words carefully.

"He just doesn't seem…" he searched for a word before settling on "enough."

Peppra scoffed, "Nappa is my kinsman." Vegeta's only response was to raise an eyebrow at her. Some Saiyans didn't mind having relations with kin, as long as it wasn't between siblings it was acceptable. Vegeta didn't know that Peppra was not one of these Saiyans. "We travel together." She didn't know why she felt the need to elaborate to him. So what if he thought Nappa was her mate?

"In that case he won't care if you leave him to whatever bed he finds and you come join me in mine." This was how mating usually happened with Saiyans. Find a mate, claim each other, and the next morning the female would have a baby in her belly. This is how all Saiyans did it because the attraction to one's mate was supposed to be so strong it was unable to resist. Some Saiyans didn't even wait to find a mate before they started producing. However, the thought of joining with Vegeta at that time repulsed Peppra.

"I don't know you," she stated before turning in the direction Nappa went and walking away. This was very unconventional and she was happy to be strong enough to do it.

"Your name!" Vegeta sounded livid.

_I can give him this much_, she thought as she looked back over her shoulder without stopping.

"Peppra."

**A/N: Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm not entirely happy with this chapter but I had done everything I had wanted to do with it so I don't know why I don't like it.**

Oozaru; The Great Ape; the beast within every Saiyan; Saiyan's are taught to respect their inner beast and take pleasure in the rare time they are able to give in to its calling. Planet Plant has a full moon every ten years. With two suns in the sky the moon is only visible for an average of four hours per night before the rays of a sun block it out. Full moons were a rare and wonderful event.

At sixteen years of age tonight would be Peppra's second full moon and it was all she could do to contain her excitement. She wasn't the only one though; there had been a buzz around the palace since day break.

She couldn't stop talking with Nappa about the transformation even though he was a limited supply of information. Nappa was twenty years old and had been a very small infant during his first full moon and they had both been children during the last. There was an old wives tale that stated if an infant goes through the transformation and lives then it will grow up to be brutal and large. Peppra never thought that Nappa was brutish but he was large. Still, his size didn't aid him against Vegeta on the night of the first battle.

Peppra was woken by the rays of the first sun as it danced over her bare skin; the moon's face was just starting to dip below the horizon. Despite the pounding in her skull and the ache of her body she forced herself to sit up and take in her surroundings.

There were bodies all around her; most she could tell were Saiyans since they were as naked as she was. However, she couldn't tell from her limited vantage point which one's were dead or which one's were asleep. She hoped that the majority were sleeping off the effects of the transformation but it would be hard to tell unless she inspected every body; any blood shed would have seeped into red ground, cloaking major casualties.

She recognized the clothed bodies scattered around as Tuffles; they lay among the Saiyans, their blue blood making purple stains on the red ground.

Peppra and those around her were lying in a Tuffle township…or what was left of it. The city was completely leveled. She cautiously lifted into the air to inspect the extent of the damage and what she saw took her breath away. Miles and miles of rubble; it appeared that they not only took out their targeted city but all townships surrounding it. At least a twenty-five mile radius around the targeted city had been was destroyed. Not bad for four hours.

The night was a blur in Peppra's memory and it was bothering her that she couldn't piece together the events. She hadn't remembered that she would loose all reason when she transformed, but obviously everyone had.

She could recall coming to the city with Nappa; recalled Vegeta giving all Saiyans stations surrounding the city as they waited for the transformation. She recalled being stationed close to Vegeta and being aware that he was watching her very closely. She recalled being irritated that he was focused on her when he should have been concerned about his raid. Peppra was going to give him a piece of her mind but was stopped by his gentle command: "Look up, Peppra."

So she had and she remembered seeing the full moon in full detail. Its perfection nearly brought her to tears as her blood had sung from the sight of it and her body answered the great moon's call. Her skin had ripped and her bones elongated as her very being changed from the inside out. It didn't hurt though, there was none of the pain that one would expect; there was sensation but it was calming, like taking a step in the right direction. It felt serene and true and almost pleasurable.

Peppra remembered being irrationally angry that she could not experience such tranquility of body, mind, and spirit more often. The anger was the last thing she remembered.

Resolving to start the long process of looking for casualties she descended only to be met by Vegeta on the ground. Other Saiyans were awake now, going from body to body—waking some, proclaiming others dead, and killing any Tuffles who were still hanging on to their lives.

Peppra met Vegeta's steady stare with one of her own. He was naked like everyone else and covered in red dirt and red blood that matted together in long deep gashes on his chest and shoulders. The cuts weren't the burn marks from Tuffle laser guns that covered the dead and wounded, they were the result of tearing claws and angry teeth.

"What happened to you?" she asked with barely concealed concern.

Vegeta ignored her worry, "You need to come with me, Peppra."

She nodded, not being able to deny him these little requests, and they took to the sky.

Vegeta landed about ten miles from where Peppra had woken up and the destruction here was far worse. They were in what was left of the South Pole City, which had been a fairly large metropolis yesterday. Today the tall buildings lay in shambles; so that every step the rebel and the young Saiyan female took they were stepping over rubble and stone streets that ran with blue and red blood so that it mixed into an ugly purple.

"We did well for having only four hours," Peppra mused as she took in the tattered surroundings.

Vegeta grunted, "I expected more from three hundred Saiyans."

They walked in silence after that since Peppra was too busy taking in the death around her to initiate conversation, besides, Vegeta looked as though he had swallowed a poison Jepri berry; his face was grim and solemn.

Finally Vegeta stopped before a pile of shredded metal and crumbled stone. He looked at Peppra, his expression giving nothing away. She was about to ask why he had brought her here when she spotted a hand sticking out from below the rubble. A very familiar large hand.

With a very uncharacteristic yell of shock Peppra began moving the rubble off of Nappa's prone body.

"Don't just stand there," she snapped at Vegeta who was standing a ways away, watching her scurry to unearth Nappa with mild interest. "Help me get him out, Vegeta!"

With a stiff nod Vegeta began taking large quantities of rubble and scrap metal in his hands and relocating it.

With Vegeta's help they were able to get Nappa free fairly quick but Peppra didn't breathe a sigh of relief until she saw that her companion was still alive. Barely, but still.

"He'll live," Vegeta said curtly. "He needs his wounds cleaned and rest."

"Yes, of course," Peppra agreed as she tried to maneuver her large comrade onto her arms so that she could take him away from the war zone. Luckily Vegeta saw the dilemma of her small frame trying to carry Nappa's girth and wordlessly he grasped Nappa's legs as Peppra cradled his torso and they flew back to the palace.

Vegeta set Nappa up in the first room the trio passed and turned to Peppra once Nappa was safely on a bed.

"I have to get back," he stated, his gruff voice still distant and solemn.

"Of course," she nodded, already making a mental list of what she would need to clean Nappa's wounds. Once Vegeta began making his way back to the window so he could fly away it occurred to her that Nappa was only alive because of Vegeta. The flame haired man didn't have to find her this morning and lead her to her comrade. Nappa meant nothing to him. Vegeta could have let him die. "Thank you, Vegeta." The words tumbled out of her mouth in an awed breathlessness.

Vegeta looked back, his onyx eyes cold. "Don't thank me for this, Peppra," he gestured lazily to Nappa, bleeding and broken on the bed. "It was my pleasure."

Twenty minutes later Peppra was standing beside a still unconscious Nappa with several bowls full of water at her feet that she had boiled with ki. It was a daunting task to get all of the blood, sweat, dirt, and debris off of Nappa's body; he was a mess. Still, she tried to work through the worst of it as fast as she could; wanting to clean the wounds out before they started closing over the grime which would undoubtedly cause infection.

It took about three hours and several trips for more water before Peppra got Nappa completely clean and he was still out cold. She had been so intent on her task that it wasn't until she stood back with a sigh of relief that she noticed the wounds covering Nappas body weren't burns from Tuffle lasers.

They were cuts and bruises, deep and red and angry and oozing clean. They were everywhere, his chest, his arms, his tail, his legs, and back. They were deep too, some going all the way to the bone. Some wounds went straight in with tearing around the edges and some had shredded his skin completely.

They were just like the wounds that Vegeta had bore on his body when he came and retrieved her that morning. Why hadn't it occurred to her that Vegeta shouldn't have known that Nappa was underneath that pile of rubble with only a single hand showing?

Suddenly Peppra was shaking as she looked down at her beaten companion. "That good for NOTING BASTARD!"

Saiyans started returning to the palace shortly after Peppra had finished nursing Nappa. She wanted to go and find Vegeta immediately and throttle him but she knew it would be a bad idea to leave Nappa alone and defenseless in a building filled with potential enemies. So she waited and fumed since she knew that after a while Vegeta would have to come to her.

When Vegeta finally did make his appearance hours later Peppra couldn't help striking out at him as soon as he opened the door. The waiting had made her feral and she was perversely satisfied when her jagged fingernails made brief contact with the side of his face before he recovered from his surprise and jumped out of her reach.

"What did you do to him?!" Peppra screeched, pleased that she could see blood in his beard form her attack. They stood on either side of the open door, Vegeta holding a large object loosely in one hand and glaring at her.

"I put him in his place."

_How humiliating for Nappa._

Despite her thoughts Peppra was shaking with rage. It felt wrong that this man she had known for all of one day could come into her life and pick a fight with someone who had been with her for her whole life…it was wrong that this was customary.

"Explain yourself," Peppra demanded.

With a jerk of his free hand Vegeta closed the door, giving the two of them relative privacy. "We battled and I won." Vegeta stated. "It's not that difficult to understand, onna."

"You attacked him—"

"I did not!" Vegeta's rumbling voice was harsh and thin, his patience with the situation wearing. "Even so it would have been well within my right to do so," he continued. "You are _mine_."

Peppra grit her teeth as he reminded her of the connection she was doing her best to ignore. It was true that because of that unexpected connection she was attracted to Vegeta—his pride and arrogance and his everything-is-mine attitude called to her and it only made things worse that she now knew he had the strength to back it all up. Still, she didn't know much about him and if asked at that moment she would have said she hated him despite her physical attrition.

"I am _my own._" she hissed.

It didn't take a genius to see what happened. Saiyan females were few in number and sometimes fights broke out between men over a mate. However, it usually ended in one of the male's death.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Peppra ask; she needed to know Vegeta's reasoning.

Vegeta's pose finally relaxed and he let go of the object he was holding so that it landed on the stone floor with a hollow _thud_. "He's strong, onna, and an excellent fighter." Vegeta shrugged as if that explained it all. The object at his feet was red and white and familiar. "I can't afford to start killing warriors when I just launched a war. I would like him on my side…..Besides, would you have forgiven me if I had?"

Peppra looked up from the object that she had finally identified as a Tuffle breast plate. "This doesn't mean anything, Vegeta," she told him, maintaining eye contact so that her words might have a chance of sinking into his thick skull. "Just because you two idiots fought over me doesn't mean I care who won."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You'd align yourself to him?"

"Perhaps I won't align myself to either of you!" She shouted in annoyance. "I'm saying I don't _know_ yet what I want and I'm not going to be anyone's mate before I'm ready."

Vegeta blinked in surprise, his demeanor going back to casual. "I can understand that," he relented. He swiftly but gently kicked the Tuffle breast plate to Peppra's feet. It was small, just her size. "I'm trying to change the world economically; you are trying to be the change you'd have socially." He was quiet for a moment before he continued thoughtfully, "I can respect that, Peppra. Still, I would like to be a part of your decision; you will be fighting close to me from now on and I will be watching you."


End file.
